Turkish contractor Ronesans announces exit from Russia after 30 years

Turkish construction contractor Ronesans Holding has announced that it has wound down its operations in Russia after 30 years of doing business in the country, where it was one of the top ten contractors in the oil and gas sector, said Interfax.

The group started its business in St. Petersburg in 1993 and subsequently significantly expanded its presence in Russia.

"In Russia, Ronesans divested its construction business in May 2022 and its real estate business in June 2023, redirecting investment and attention to diverse locations worldwide. This transition and the strategic decision to pivot away from direct management in that market has transformed Ronesans' growth strategy. The group's global footprint now extends to various regions, anchored in Turkey and spanning the Netherlands, Germany and CIS countries, with a growing focus on Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan," the group said in a press release.

The Russian legal entities of JSC Ronesans Construction in Moscow and St. Petersburg have been renamed JSC Rencons and Ronesans Heavy Industries has been renamed Rencons Heavy Industries. Ronesans said it expects to end 2023 with revenue up 10% to 3.3 billion euros and is targeting turnover of 4.5 billion euros in 2024.

Ronesans also plans to take "its first step towards opening to the public" this year with the announcement of an IPO for Ronesans Real Estate Investment. "This IPO will be the first of potentially many others, as momentum grows for Ronesans Group," the press release said.

The group's Russian portfolio included industrial facilities and major mixed-use real estate projects such as Gazprom's Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg and the Federation, Neva Towers and iCity skyscrapers in Moscow.

We remind, imports of polymer feedstock to Russia may grow in 2024, Petr Bazunov, General Director of the Russian Plastics Processors Association (RPPA). A number of processors in our Association have decided to increase imports, as imported raw materials in Russia are sold at prices equal or close to those of SIBUR. The principle of import parity or so-called netbacks is in effect. Refiners choose the raw materials that are more profitable for them.

mrchub.com

Tecnimont has been awarded a FEED contract by MadoquaPower2X to develop an integrated green hydrogen and green ammonia plant located in the industrial zone of Sines, Portugal. MadoquaPower2x is a consortium comprised of Madoqua Renewables, Power2X and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), through its Energy Transition Fund, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project involves the production of green hydrogen using alkaline-water electrolyzer technology and production of green ammonia through the Haber-Bosch process. Green ammonia will be transported by pipeline to the Port of Sines and loaded for export and/or used as maritime fuel.

Tecnimont’s scope of work entails the design of the electrolyzers’ integration, air separation unit for nitrogen production, ammonia production plant, as well as storage and ship loading facilities. As part of the agreement, Tecnimont will also submit an Engineering, Procurement and Construction proposal for the construction activities of the plant. The Final Notice to Proceed is expected by 22 March 2024.

This award follows a PRE-FEED carried out by NextChem Tech, MAIRE’s Sustainable Technology Solutions subsidiary and is further proof of the synergies and cross-fertilization at the base of MAIRE’s positioning as a leading Integrated Technology and E&C solutions provider. As such, Tecnimont will provide its EPC expertise leveraging on NextChem Tech’s technological competences for hydrogen production and storage.

MadoquaPower2X will use renewable energy generated by solar and wind assets under development in Portugal and up to 500 MWs of electrolysis capacity to produce up to 1,200 MTPD of green ammonia. It will be the first facility in Sines, the largest industrial and logistic hub in the Iberian Peninsula, to produce clean energy at an industrial scale and with the highest environmental and safety standards. The project is geared towards the set-up of an export energy carrier value chain between the Port of Sines (Portugal) and Northwestern European Hub.

We remind, MAIRE announces that Tecnimont has been awarded a FEED contract by Fortescue, a global green technology, energy and metals company, for a green ammonia plant to be located in the Nordgulen fjord in Norway.

mrchub.com

Warm weather is helping Europe conserve fuel. However, gas reserves in the region's storage facilities have fallen below the 70% milestone, said Interfax.

The Ukrainian GTS Operator (OGTSU) accepted an order from Gazprom on Monday to transport 42.1 mcm of gas, the Ukrainian company reported. The Sunday order was for 40 mcm. The number applies to one of two entry points into the country's gas transportation system, the Sudzha gas measuring station. The order for transport via the Sokhranovka GIS was not accepted.

Gazprom representative Sergei Kupriyanov told reporters "Gazprom is shipping Russian gas for transit via Ukraine on February 5 in confirmed volumes of 42.3 mcm via the Sudzha GIS. The order for the Sokhranovka GIS was rejected."

OGTSU declared force majeure with regard to gas transit via Sokhranovka, since it allegedly cannot exercise operational and technological control over the Novopskov compressor station. The route through Sokhranovka used to provide transit to over 30 mcm of gas per day. Gazprom believes there are no grounds for force majeure, and no obstacles to continuing to operate as before.

Although January 2024 was actually more temperate than preliminary forecasts had suggested, the average temperature was still 2 degrees colder than the previous year. The current weather forecast for February promises temperatures one degree higher than the climate norm, at the same level as February last year.

The spot price of gas in Europe remained almost unchanged on Friday. The contract for day-ahead delivery at the TTF hub in the Netherlands closed at $321 per thousand cu. m.

Wind generation in Europe has provided an average of 25% of the region's electricity needs since the beginning of February, the WindEurope association said. Last February, wind power plants contributed 16%, while last month the figure was 22%.

There is a noticeable gap in LNG prices in Asia compared to Europe. March futures for the JKM Platts index (the Japan Korea Marker, which reflects the spot market value of cargo delivered to Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan) are trading at $338, while futures for LNG supplied to NW Europe (LNG North West Europe Marker) are at $302.

Natural gas reserve levels in Europe are one of the key indicators for the global market.

The current figure is 69.14%, 14 percentage points above the average for the same dates over the past five years, Gas Infrastructure Europe said. Although Europe is actively limiting the use of gas and its reserves, the current level of reserves is noticeably lower than the same dates in 2023 and 2020 (the GIE database contains observational data since 2011).

During the February 3 gas day (a day off), reserves decreased 0.18 percentage points. Since the latter part of January, amid warmer weather conditions, selection intensity has been significantly lower than the average for the last five years.

European LNG terminals operated at an average productivity of 51% in January 2023; since the beginning of February, their average load has been 47%.

The state of reserves in American underground gas storage facilities is becoming increasingly important as the country actively increases exports. The United States continues to withdraw gas from its storage facilities. In the latest reporting week, gas reserves fell 5.6 bcm, a third more than usual at this time of year. Reserves in the US are currently at 55%, which is very close (a difference of only +2 percentage points) to the average for the last five years, the Energy Information Administration said.

mrchub.com

Oman's Duqm refinery units are currently working at 100% capacity of 230,000 bpd, Kuwait Petroleum International CEO Shafi Taleb Al-Ajmi told Reuters on Monday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Duqm refinery is a 50/50 joint venture between Kuwait Petroleum International and Oman's OQ Group.

We remind, Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR is shipping Azeri BTC oil to Thailand via Africa's Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea, according to LSEG and Kpler data and traders. Attacks by Yemen-based Houthi forces on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are driving up freight costs and disrupting global trade. The Tilos I is carrying some one million barrels of Azeri BTC crude oil which was loaded at Turkey's Ceyhan port on January 22, according to LSEG and Kpler consultancy data. The cargo is expected to offload in Sri Racha, Thailand, on March 8, the data showed.

mrchub.com

Two Ukrainian attack drones struck the largest oil refinery in southern Russia in the latest in a series of long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities, said Reuters.

Local authorities in Russia said earlier that a fire had been extinguished at the Volgograd refinery following a drone attack. Oil producer Lukoil, which owns the refinery, later said the plant was working as normal.

The Kyiv source said the operation by the SBU security service struck the primary processing facility, without which the refinery could lose significant production capacity.

Ukrainian officials seldom take responsibility publicly for deep strike attacks on Russian territory. The Volgograd refinery is the latest in a series of facilities to be targeted by drones. Kyiv sees such infrastructure as important for the Kremlin's war effort.

The source told Reuters such drone attacks would continue. "By hitting oil refineries working for the Russian military-industrial complex, we not only cut off the logistics of fuel supplies for enemy equipment, but also reduce funds into the Russian budget," the source said.

The distance between the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv near the Russian border and the southern Russian city of Volgograd is more than 600km.

Russia has been conducting regular long-range missile strikes on targets in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, prompting Kyiv to scramble for ways to close the gap on Moscow's more advanced military technology.

Ukraine has sought to spur innovation in drone technology and to support the production of long-range drones to allow it to strike back.

We remind, imports of polymer feedstock to Russia may grow in 2024, Petr Bazunov, General Director of the Russian Plastics Processors Association (RPPA). A number of processors in our Association have decided to increase imports, as imported raw materials in Russia are sold at prices equal or close to those of SIBUR. The principle of import parity or so-called netbacks is in effect. Refiners choose the raw materials that are more profitable for them.

mrchub.com